Level Up Or Game Over: Will ‘Wreck-It-Ralph’ Be A Winner?

Level Up Or Game Over: Will 'Wreck-It-Ralph' Be A Winner?

Our quest to pinpoint the potential peaks and troughs of the big fall movies continues today, and after examining "Lincoln,""Flight" and "Skyfall" so far, we're moving on to the last big hitter of November (bar :"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2," which felt like shooting fish in a barrel) — Walt Disney's latest 3D CGI extravaganza "Wreck-It Ralph."

With the glories of the early 1990s long behind the company, the Mouse House has been mostly playing second fiddle to its subsidiary Pixar in the last decade. But with "Cars 2" and "Brave" dropping the ball somewhat creatively, do you think Mickey and co. can reclaim the crown with their video-game inspired picture, which has been getting great buzz for the last year or so? Or does the film look noisy, sickly and alienating to you? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

"Wreck-It Ralph"

The Case For:
Walt Disney Feature Animation is at something of a crossroads right now. Traditional animation was briefly revived, thanks largely to the boundless enthusiasm of Pixar's John Lasseter; under his leadership, the studio released two excellent traditionally animated features ("Winnie The Pooh" and "The Princess and the Frog") that were hugely expensive and, despite their quality, box office disappointments. Since "Winnie the Pooh," the studio, known for dropping breadcrumbs about upcoming animated features years in advance, has been mum about the future of traditional animation.

At the same time, the computer animation side of the company seems to be finding its footing, based largely on the success of "Tangled." Interestingly, what "Wreck-It Ralph," the new film about a videogame villain (played with by John C. Reilly) looking to become the hero of his own adventure, will showcase is, in short order, the next phase of Walt Disney Feature Animation.

The glimpse into the future starts before the feature even begins, with the presentation of "Paperman," a brilliant black-and-white short film that I just saw at the Hamptons Film Festival (read the review here). But "Wreck-It Ralph" offers a different kind of breakthrough: Most people associate Disney with classic fairy tales, folk stories, and the like. But "Wreck-It Ralph," with its focus on videogames, is a totally modern, original tale.

It's being directed by an outsider, too, which is a pretty big deal. "Wreck-It Ralph" is helmed by Rich Moore, who is responsible for some of the more unforgettable episodes of "Futurama" (including the Emmy-winning "Roswell That Ends Well") and "The Simpsons" (like the Conan O'Brien-scripted "Marge vs. the Monorail"). His sensibilities are perfect for "Wreck-It Ralph," especially when Ralph slips out of his own videogame and goes "game-jumping," hopping into games that resemble the "Call of Duty"/"Halo" shooters, as well as a "Mario Kart"-like racing game called "Sugar Rush." For "Wreck-It Ralph" to succeed it needed someone with whip-fire wit and a crazy amount of energy, both of which Moore has in excess.

There's also that element of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in "Wreck-It Ralph," where popular videogame characters pop up and interact with characters from the movie, including folks from "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Street Fighter," "Altered Beast" (!?), "Paperboy," "Joust," "Frogger," "Pac-Man," "Dig Dug," and "Super Mario Bros." This kind of meta-textual experimentation is almost unheard of, especially in a Disney film. And to the dissenters who say that this will simply be a watered-down DreamWorks Animation film with tired pop culture references and very little heart, trailers suggest there's plenty of emotional backbone to go around, and that the videogame characters here will be fully realized and totally engaging.

The folly for films based on videogames (and large-scale Hollywood entertainments that look like they were based on videogames) is that they always make you feel like you're watching someone else play while you're sitting there, passively viewing. God willing, "Wreck-It Ralph" will make you feel like you're inside the videogame, playing along the whole time. If it's as good as people I've talked to who have seen it suggest, it could be the first computer-generated Disney animated classic. And that's something to get really, really excited about. Bring extra quarters – Drew Taylor

The Case Against:
For all the talk of the renaissance of Disney animation, not everyone's been as impressed by the company's recent films as Drew. There's no denying that "The Princess and the Frog" and "Tangled" were a step up from films like "Chicken Little" and "Meet The Robinsons," but for those of us who aren't animation buffs, they still left a certain something to be desired. Pretty, certainly, but formulaic, and still leaving a sense of the company chasing past glories, rather than breaking new ground.

Maybe we we were just spoilt by Pixar's extraordinary run in the 00s (although even that seems to be slowing down, after "Cars 2" and "Brave") And while there's a fair bit of promise in the trailers for "Wreck-It Ralph," we're not sure there's anything to suggest a classic to sit alongside "Wall*E" or "Up," let alone the best of 2D Disney.

For one, with its 8-bit video game references, it seems to fit right into the bullshit nostalgia that permeates so much of our pop culture these days. Gamers might get a shudder of pleasure when they glimpse Frogger or Q*Bert or Dr. Robotnik on screen, but will there be anything left for those of us who don't really know or care about those cameos? Not least the target audience of kids, who were born after the release of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," let alone most of the games referenced here. And while Rich Moore's background on "The Simpsons" is a comfort, his work on "Futurama" is less so: the latter show's full of the kind of geek reference humor that sees us switch off quickly.

Drew brings up "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" which had a solid noir story at its base before populating it with cartoon cameos (most of which weren't as prominent as they seem to be here), but we've not seen much evidence that there's more to the backbone of "Wreck-It Ralph" than the same old Hero's Journey stuff we've seen many times before.

Comments

The new Winnie the Pooh was dreadful, Princess and the Frog was a rehash trying to recreate the lost 90's, Meet the Robinsons was actually heartfelt, and Wreck it Ralph is simply trying to appeal to fat geek boys ( cough! Lasseter cough!).

Of course, I hope Ralph is good, but I'm more excited about Paperman than anything else.

Traditional animation must have a future. Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Aladdin were and are amazing. Why has Disney lost the motivation for Traditional animation and the recipe for a successful movie? Why not continue the franchises from the 90's?

"If it's as good as people I've talked to who have seen it suggest, it could be the first computer-generated Disney animated classic". You're writing a review of a movie you haven't seen? Wow. That's a new low.